“Sign, sign, Everywhere a sign, Blockin’ out the scenery, Breakin’ my mind” – from 1971’s “Signs” by The Five Man Electrical Band.
Hate is a strong word, but as a veteran of 10 municipal campaigns dating back 45 years, I truly hate political signs and also the political advertisements on television and radio.
On rare occasions, I was able to convince a political opponent of the wisdom of us not putting up lawn signs. I felt they often pitted neighbor against neighbor. They are also difficult to keep up because of wind, rain, sign-stealers and Halloween trick-or-treaters.
Proponents of political signs feel they give a candidate exposure, especially in elections where campaign budgets are not large enough to use print and electronic media.
When I drive around and see one or two political signs in a yard it indicates to me the owner’s strong support of a candidate or issue. When I see a half dozen of them in the same yard, it makes me wonder if the homeowner ever gets tired of moving them to mow the lawn? When I see more than that, I ask myself what exactly is wrong with that person?
It has always been a pet peeve to see political signs posted in public rights-of-way, on highway ramps and median strips. To me, that indicates a candidate’s disdain or their campaign committee’s disregard for zoning laws and the environment. Those signs rarely get collected after the election and they end up blowing around, then lying there for months.
When I was a mayor, I would ask our zoning inspector to collect illegally posted signs and notify the offending campaign where to reclaim them with strict orders not to repost.
In recent years, free-speech advocates have threatened municipalities with lawsuits for trying to control campaign signs. In Solon, they were once banned until 30 days before an election. As a result of litigation, municipal laws were relaxed to allow a single non-profane sign to be posted year-round.
Now, political yard signs start popping up months before an election and seem to be posted anywhere and everywhere without any enforcement.
Political signs or advertisements have never influenced me, especially when I see a sign posted in a public right-of-way or on highways. Then I make a mental note not to vote for that candidate.
In recent years, political signs in Cuyahoga County have greatly proliferated, but in Geauga County, the philosophy is the bigger they are, the better. I feel sorry for the people who are charged with putting them up. They use pickup trucks and pile drivers just to get these monster signs into the ground.
Turning to political ads, voters claim to dislike negative advertising, but it obviously works, or candidates and political consultants wouldn’t spend millions to keep running them during every election cycle. They often take the slightest sliver of truth and turn it into a 30-second attack ad.
Often opposing political ads run back-to-back. It leaves viewers wondering how primary election voters could have chosen two such despicable people as the general election nominees that voters now have to choose between.
As a political junkie dating back to the early 1960s, I often wondered how any voter could possibly believe those ads. However, the political consultants realize how uninformed far too many voters are and gear those ads precisely at them.
Attack ads were running before the Nov. 5 election with such frequency that at the Circleville (Ohio) Pumpkin Festival, a child playing a carnival game shouted to now-Sen.-elect Bernie Moreno “I’ve seen you on TV!,” The New York Times reported. Moreno almost apologetically assured him that, in a few weeks, he wouldn’t have to any longer.
I experienced firsthand how some people too often vote on emotion. Someone once told me he arrived at the polls still undecided but then he voted for me because I had mentioned he had left his car lights on. Another time, I lost a potential voter because I was wearing a Cleveland Indians hat.
Robert Paulson, the former Republican mayor of Solon, writes an occasional Plain Dealer/cleveland.com column from the political middle. (Photo by David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com)
I also wonder why candidates or political consultants, especially Democrats, believe that celebrity endorsements move the political needle. Most celebrities live in gated homes, with personal security wherever they go. Their political views are too often not based on reality. Taylor Swift may be the only current celebrity with some real influence when trying to energize a target demographic to vote.
We can all now celebrate, because election season is over — even though another election cycle will gear right back up again in less than two months.
Issue 1’s fate: In previous columns, I stated Issue 1, the redistricting reform measure, would win substantially. I was wrong — too focused on what I saw in Northeast Ohio and the millions of dollars proponents were spending to pass the issue.
Supporters of Issue 1 can blame the loss on the Republican-drafted ballot language. Yet it was a cumbersome proposal where a paid committee (with staff) would appoint a 15-person citizen committee to draw compact, fair and balanced legislative districts. Ohio is a state that is now so red, I did not see how that was possible, regardless of whether it was politicians or citizens performing the task. For the record, I voted “no.”
Bob Paulson, the former Republican mayor of Solon who last year announced he was switching his party affiliation to “independent,” writes an occasional column from the middle.
To share ideas and feedback with Bob Paulson: bobpaulsonPD@gmail.com
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